The most recent book I've finished is 'Him and Me' by father and son team Michael and Jack Whitehall. Whitehall senior is a retired agent who has worked with some very well known stage and screen actors, while Whitehall junior is a stand up comedian and actor, star of BBC Three's 'Bad Education' and Channel Four's 'Fresh Meat'.
'Him and Me' is a brilliantly conceived collection of funny stories spanning the Whitehall's shared life from Jack's birth until his late teens. The anecdotes are amusing in themselves, but the book is made all the funnier by its structure. Each tale written by Jack is supplemented with 'corrections' and footnotes by Michael and vice versa. It's these comments that make it worth a read.
As you can probably tell, I rather enjoyed this book. The footnotes make it much funnier than the average memoir and it's got a friendly, family feel because it's much like listening to two competitive relations telling stories, unable to resist who chipping in over the top of each other. It brings the text to life and allows the authors to get away with all sorts of tall tales as it places everything firmly tongue in cheek.
Another great strength is also possibly the book's biggest weakness. Because the book has two very different authors representing two separate generations, it has two potential audiences, one older and one younger. The book could appeal to both groups - or maybe neither. The language used and some of the humour (it seems nudity runs rampant in this family!) may put off an older reader, while the younger reader may get irritated by regular mentions of prestigious actors they may not be aware of.
In me, I think the Whitehalls have found the right audience however. I love a bit of tongue-in-cheek, Carry On humour and enjoy older films and TV, so knew of a lot of the people mentioned. Whether there are enough like me to make this a bestseller, though, I really don't know!
Overall, I'd recommend 'Him and Me'. It's an easy, funny read and just the think to lighten up the dark winter nights.
Now, for a bit of Dark Ages intrigue with Bernard Cornwell and Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
